Jeremiah’s Call and Commission

The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,

Now behold, I have made you today like a fortified city and like a pillar of iron and walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its leaders, to its priests, and to the people of the land.

The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ And those who handle the Law did not know Me; The rulers also revolted against Me, And the prophets prophesied by Baal And walked after things that were of no benefit.

“Like the shame of a thief when he is discovered, So the house of Israel is shamed; They, their kings, their leaders, Their priests, and their prophets,

“And it shall come about on that day,” declares the Lord, “that the heart of the king and the hearts of the leaders will fail; and the priests will tremble, and the prophets will be astonished.”

The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it this way! But what will you do when the end comes?

The Sin and Treachery of Judah

“At that time,” declares the Lord, “they will bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its leaders, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves.

then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to fill all the inhabitants of this land—the kings who sit for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with drunkenness!

The Broken Jar

This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a potter’s earthenware jar, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the senior priests.

A Plot to Murder Jeremiah

The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord.

Yet when Jeremiah finished speaking everything that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You must die!

Then the priests and the prophets spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “A death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied against this city, just as you have heard with your own ears!”

Jeremiah Is Spared

Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “No death sentence for this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, “Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon”; for they are prophesying a lie to you.

Hananiah’s False Prophecy

Now in the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Hananiah the prophet the son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me at the house of the Lord in the sight of the priests and all the people, saying,

Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the sight of the priests and in the sight of all the people who were standing at the house of the Lord,

Message to the Exiles

Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

“This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying,

I will refresh the soul of the priests with abundance, And My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares the Lord.

because of all the evil of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah which they have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their kings, their leaders, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

and the Levitical priests shall not lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to prepare sacrifices continually.’”

then My covenant with David My servant may also be broken, so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers.

the officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the high officials and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf—

For because of your trust in your own achievements and treasures, You yourself will also be captured; And Chemosh will go off into exile Together with his priests and his leaders.

“Wail, Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed! Cry out, daughters of Rabbah, Put on sackcloth and mourn, And move about inside the walls; For Malcam will go into exile Together with his priests and his leaders.